Playlists for music and movies are well known. A playlist is a list of a user's favorite selections. Popular personal computer (PC) media playing programs, such as Windows Media Player (a trademark of Microsoft Corporation), offer the capability for a user to compile a playlist. The user may subsequently select items to be played from the playlist and the media playing program then plays the selected items. The use of such a playlist simplifies the selection process and thus makes listening to music or viewing movies easier and more enjoyable.
Typically, such selection is accomplished by viewing a playlist within the media playing program and by designating which selection is to be played. The selection to be played may be designated by clicking on it with a mouse, for example.
Playlists also facilitate the playing of a plurality of selections in a particular order. That is, the playlist may be compiled in an order in which the playing of selections therefrom is desired. The selections may then be automatically played sequentially from the playlist. Typically, selections may also be played randomly from a playlist.
Playlists are typically compiled by reviewing a list of selections available for play and then choosing those selections that the user would like to have on the playlist. Thus, a user may review songs that are stored on a personal computer's hard drive and compile a playlist therefrom, for example.
The playlist may subsequently be edited or updated as new selections become available and/or the user's preferences change. Thus, a user's playlist may reflect a group of selections that was compiled over an extended length of time, such as several years.
The sharing of playlists is also known. Popular file sharing programs, such as Kazaa (a trademark of Sharman Networks), facilitate the sharing of playlists. Using such systems, it is possible for a user to download a list of songs or movies that another individual has compiled. This list may then be used to make or modify a playlist for the user.
Although such playlists and playlist sharing systems have proven generally suitable for their intended purposes, they possess inherent deficiencies, which detract from their overall effectiveness and desirability. For example, according to contemporary methodology, playlists are only communicated to and used with general purpose computers, such as IBM compatible personal computers (PCs) and Apple computers.
Further, there is no contemporary system for easily identifying people who have similar interest, such that their playlist can be downloaded. Rather, according to contemporary methodology, playlists are obtained by searching on keywords, such as the titles of selections contained within the playlists. However, the mere fact that the person's playlist has a particular selection in it does not necessarily mean that the playlist contains other selections that a user may enjoy.
As such, although the prior art has recognized, to a limited extent, the problems of finding and using playlists, the proposed solutions have, to date, been ineffective in providing a satisfactory remedy. Therefore, it is desirable to provide a system and method for sharing playlists, wherein the playlists are communicated to, stored in, and displayed upon player devices other than general purpose computers. It is also desirable to provide a method for identifying playlists that are likely to contain selections that will be enjoyed by a user.